Anyone got any riding tips for a newbie?

So far I've only tried it out on the paved footpaths in the park behind my house and only fallen off a couple of times (not been hurt, luckily).

From what I've read in the forums tonight, I think I should let a little air out of the tyre, as it feels like it could do with a little more give to smooth out the ride. I weigh roughly 150 pounds so any advice on a preferable pressure would be appreciated.

I'm still in the process of getting the knack of dismounting. Lifting half my foot off the sensor is still tricky; half the time I manage it but half the time I don't quite get fully off the sensor. So it doesn't stop, but in trying I've unbalanced myself enough to lose control of the board. Any tips on this?

Any tips for riding off curbs or drops off pavements etc? I'm a little nervous to try that, just because I feel like the landing will shift my balance too much and I'll lose control of the board.

Just any general advice would be great, really! Anything you think will help a beginner!

On stopping - practice coming to neutral. For me, I always brake, get to full neutral (meaning my board is stopped and just balancing) then I rotate my front foot off. This way I am never out of control when stopping.

By the way, on being at neutral - one of the things I see people who try the OW for the first time is they have trouble balancing on the heel-toe axis of their weight. I've found that one of the most important thing to get right is you should be able to jump on the OW, get it to neutral without moving, and remain very stable. For me, it means my toe-side is usually 2-3 inches off the board.

Being stable at neutral helps make sure you've got the balance to be in control when you're on the move. I've had a few falls due to the board nosediving (my fault at not recognizing pushback) and because the tire slipped on a slippery surface, but otherwise I've ridden for hours straight without even feeling like there is a risk for falling.

@AdamDoubleG to dismount I lift my heel off the sensor while keeping my ball of foot of 2nd sensor whilst slowing down and when you almost come to a complete stop the board will disengage and back board should drop. You may have to counter weight with back foot while lifting front heel so that you stay level. It looks pretty natural when you nail it.

@njcustom When you say "stomp down", what exactly do you mean? Surely you don't mean lift a foot and bring it back down? As soon as you'd lift a foot off, you'd lose control of the board, wouldn't you? Could you talk me through it in a little more detail?

Hi, I am a newbie too (Day 4). Here are a couple of things that have helped me so far: 1) Practice lifting your foot off the sensor to dismount next to something that can help you balance (I used my kitchen counter). Do them over and over again until it becomes a habit. 2) Steer with your hips. Your feet will follow, and you won't have to think about exactly what your feet are doing as much. This helped me a lot, especially on heel-side turns. 3) Riding down small bumps or cracks is not as hard as it looks - just slow down a little (not too much) and don't panic. But even a small upward crack can be very tough. Good luck, have fun, and please share anything new you pick up!

What I would tell you is just get out there and ride every single day even if its just for a few minutes. It builds your confidence, your experience level and gets those calfs and souls of your feet in shape. When it rains non stop for days and I don't get to ride I can really tell how I have lost some of the progress I have made. All muscle memory and what not. Recently I have been riding every day at lunch and after work and my progress has really grown - even learning some new tricks. Be as loose on the board as you can be. Jamming out to Phish and other tunes helps me stay lose and rip it up! Keep shredding and sharing the stoke!

I like to keep my hands out away from my sides. I've seen a lot of videos of people who are really good at onewheeling, and they kind of do this for balance. Also, after taking a really nasty fall where my face smacked pavement, it keeps your arms up to shield your face (that's my theory anyway) if you fall unexpectedly.

Glad to see someone else @amyt2205 did the same very helpful dismount training. The method of standing on the board while holding onto something like a countertop or some other stable furniture and repeatedly practicing dismounting can help you master it in minutes. After 10-15 mins of this inside my living room on day 1 I had the muscle memory down and dismount mastered. Highly recommended.

Also, I started in the grass in my yard. While that may seem like an easier way to do it because I thought the falls wouldn't hurt as badly, it was a lot harder because of the drag and the dips. However, I would say that it made me better since once you move to pavement, it will feel like glass. Hurts more if you fall, though.

Third time out in the park today and no spills (although a couple of wobbly moments when trying to dismount). Think I've started to get used to keeping my knees loose and not panic when I hit any bumps or dips. I took some air out of the tyre too, so maybe that helped.
Thanks for all your advice so far, everyone!

Third time out in the park today and no spills (although a couple of wobbly moments when trying to dismount). Think I've started to get used to keeping my knees loose and not panic when I hit any bumps or dips. I took some air out of the tyre too, so maybe that helped.
Thanks for all your advice so far, everyone!

Absolutely, I found this to be the case, too. A few things I've learned (either on my own or from people on the forums) that have been very helpful:

Keeping the feet/ankles loose and the knees bent & not freaking out when I run over a bump, but instead allowing the board to do what it's going to do.

Keeping my weight centered over the board instead of leaning on the front of the board (this helps avoid a lot of nosedives).

Looking forward to where I'm going instead of looking at my feet.

When turning, looking and turning my upper body in the direction I want to go, instead of concentrating on turning my feet (the board will follow when you do this).

One of the first things I would do is watch your feet when you are turning. Inherently, you will tend to lift your toe or your heel more on one for than the other. Find which foot doesn't lift or move on the foot pad and always make sure THAT is the foot that you have on the sensor side! It's not cool when you're beginning to feel confident, you're leaning into a curve and the board suddenly shuts off because your heel or toe lifted! Everyone rides their own way so who knows if it will be your back for or front foot but most everyone moves one foot more than the other.

@Electric-Slide Yes. Definitely check that every now and then, just don't fixate on your feet when you're riding. I was doing that at first but realized it's a bad idea, and it's a lot easier to ride when looking ahead.